Kentucky Wildcats fans had high hopes for Brock Vandagriff when he committed to the Wildcats.

Before transferring to Kentucky, Vandagriff was a highly-touted 5-star recruit and the Gatorade National Player of the Year. Initially, he committed to Oklahoma to play under Lincoln Riley but later decommitted, choosing to stay closer to home at Georgia, where he served as a backup quarterback throughout his time there. Many believed that if Kirby Smart saw potential in him, Kentucky would be able to maximize his talent.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned. Shortly after Vandagriff’s commitment, Liam Coen, Kentucky’s offensive coordinator at the time, left the program to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coen has since moved on to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, leaving Kentucky without the offensive mindset many thought would help Vandagriff thrive.

Kentucky eventually hired Bush Hamdan, but the season did not go well, as the team finished with a 4-8 record. During the season, Vandagriff dealt with several injuries, including an ankle injury, a knee issue, an AC joint sprain in his shoulder, and a concussion.

Despite having one year of eligibility remaining, Vandagriff decided to step away from football.

In his first public remarks since the announcement, he told the Athens Banner-Herald that he had lost his passion for the game, which ultimately led to his decision to walk away from the sport.

“I wanted to be able to spend more time with my family and things of that sort,” Vandagriff said. “It wasn’t like I was fired up to go in there every day. As a quarterback that’s kind of what you need. Your team relies on you and I didn’t feel like I was able to be at my best every day because of the whole situation.”

Vandagriff had an up-and-down season throughout but had his best game of the year against Ole Miss early into the season. Vandagriff went 18/28 on 64.3% for a completion rate, 243 passing yards, and one touchdown.

Of course,e the best moment was when Vandagriff threw the deep pass to Barion Brown on the fourth down.

After three seasons on the bench at Georgia, Brock Vandagriff took over as Kentucky’s starting quarterback for a year. He finished the season with a 57.3% completion rate, throwing for 1,593 yards, 10 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.

Despite the offense struggling in the passing game — ranked 112th nationally — head coach Mark Stoops approached Vandagriff about the possibility of returning for another season in Lexington, but a decision was already made.

“I was just ready for the next stage of my life,” said Vandagirff.

Vandagriff is committed to his retirement from football and has no plans to return to the game. If that is the case, we all wish him nothing but the best in his retirement and a successful career outside of football.